Producer Rico Wade Says Organized Noize Is “Responsible For Making The South Respectable”

Atlanta based production team Organized Noize has been putting in work for years. The team, consisting of Rico Wade, Ray Murray, and Sleepy Brown was instrumental in helping break now-famous southern artists OutKast, Goodie Mob, TLC, and En Vogue. Their production credits include OutKast’s entire Southernplyalisticadillacmuzik album, Goodie Mob’s Soul Food album, TLC’s smash hit, “Waterfalls”, and Ludacris’ “Saturday (Oooh Ooooh)” amongst countless others. The group continues to impact the game, most recently working with Future, who happens to be Rico Wade’s cousin.

During an extended interview with The Bee Shine, Wade spoke on the group’s influence and how they helped introduce and popularize the southern sound in other markets.

“Organized Noize Productions is responsible for making the South respectable and that’s no disrespect to Luther Campbell and J Prince and Geto Boys,” said Wade. “We wanted New York to respect our brains, not them fat asses and our pistols.”

Wade also went on to say that New York’s style was inspirational to southern hip-hop and Wade spent his formative years learning about the culture and music of New York. “New York is very influential to Southern Hip Hop,” Wade says. “New York is the father. Me and my partner Ray, we studied Hip Hop. We went to New York. We went Harlem. We went to the Bronx. We went to certain places to get breakbeats and stuff.”